by R. E. Carr
“Ann was what my father always called me . . .”
“How old are you, Jenn?” Ann asked pointedly.
“Twenty-three. You, Ann?”
“Twenty-seven. Do you remember getting your degree at night? Taking the job at Harvard . . . ?”
“That’s impossible! I was transported after Sara—”
“Sara? Sara died four years ago, when she tried to hook up that crazy machine. I only wish the fire had destroyed that damn rock, or I wouldn’t have ended up here.”
“What are you talking about?” CALA asked.
“There was a man. An agent for the CIA or the NSA or something. His name was Sapphyr. Turns out the rocks are part of some conspiracy. He said that he had questions about what happened in 2002 . . .”
“There was that guy, Sara’s friend. His name was Will,” CALA said softly.
“Agent Rubine?” Ann asked suspiciously. “He lived.”
“How can this be possible?” both CALA and Ann asked at once.
“Favorite color?” Anne asked.
“Cream,” both said in unison.
“First pet?” CALA asked.
“Bob the goldfish,” Anne answered. “But why was he so funny?”
“Because he was a betta,” CALA answered without skipping a beat. “Who did I have a crush on in fifth grade?”
“Gregory Madison.”
“Because he looked like a young Johnny Depp,” they answered in perfect unison. They both continued with, “You are a copy of me!”
“So the Machidonian theory was correct,” Ann sighed. “They detected the echo when I was being downloaded into their temple. But that was years ago, and then a few months ago—”
“A secondary transmission, the failsafe!” CALA said, stumbling backward. She looked back at her copy. “You’re on a Machidonian ship. Why?”
“I’ve been through a lot in my four years here in Hykeria,” Ann said as she circled around her desk. She flipped up her left hand and showed off a ring. She giggled like a schoolgirl as she declared, “I got married. I met the most amazing man, and he saved me.” Her smile slanted slightly as she looked at her other self. “Do you have any idea how . . . ?”
“Weird?” CALA offered.
Ann shook her head and laughed. “You do sound just like me. Yes, do you have any idea how weird it is to discover that you captured . . . yourself?”
CALA nodded slowly. “Yes, I have a very good idea,” she sighed.
Ann returned to her seat and kicked her feet up on the desk. “This world is the most fantastic experience of my entire life. I mean, the Machidonians treat me like goddess. Any idea what that might feel like?”
“My friends and I have just been traveling . . . trying to see the world,” CALA said with a forced smile. Ann returned the exact same look.
“You should come with me, then. After all, I can fly anywhere!” she said with a pathetic little laugh. “Wow, I still can’t believe you exist. Damn.”
“I wonder if Sara is going to turn up somewhere too,” CALA offered weakly.
“Yes, wouldn’t it be wonderful if the dead just magically turned back up?” Ann asked bitterly. “You didn’t see her body. You’re just a backup that never had to . . .”
To punctuate her point, she rolled up a sleeve to reveal a network of burn scars. “Let’s just say that you’re lucky. I can never wear short sleeves or a bikini again, but then again, you’re just my slacker former self that never got any sense knocked into her. I bet you still feel inferior to Sara and think that you’re doomed to waste away, slapping plaster on restaurant walls.”
“You saw Sara . . .”
“I saw a lot before they made me touch that damn rock again,” Ann said bitterly. “But it’s all better now.”
CALA took a pointed step forward. “Why are you with the Machidonians?” she asked. “I didn’t think they liked outsiders.”
Ann eased back down into her chair. “I told you, they think I was sent by the divine, just like the Knights were so many millennia ago. Have you met any Knights? My husband, Farris, is one.”
“Your husband is Farris the Knight?” CALA asked slowly. Machidonian script poured down one of the monitors.
“Begin Knight activation cycle,” it read.
“You’ve heard of him? Oh, and your friend out there is not who he appears to be. He might have changed his appearance, but this ship already identified him as Eon. You should know that he is a murderer who betrayed my husband. He turned against the man who rightfully paid his contract and spared the life of an evil, false prophet from the Beast Tribe.”
CALA and Ann both stared at each other. The monitor flashed again.
“Five gon until Knight activation,” the screen read.
CALA took a deep breath.
“Ann, Eon was sent to kill me,” she said softly.
“Of course,” she said, just as softly. “He was supposed to kill . . .”
“I am the Serif-fan of the Beast Tribe.”
Ann nodded and let out a deep sigh. “Of course you are. The woman who single-handedly ruined our conquest of the Beast Tribe was . . . me!” She broke into spasms of laughter.
“How can you laugh? This ship killed hundreds of people at Gracow! Innocent people—”
“Innocent?” Ann asked, as she choked back her laughter. “I’m sorry. It’s just that seeing my own reaction is so . . . so . . .”
CALA shook her head in horror. “How can you be . . .”
Ann’s face turned serious, “The Beast Tribe fought the Machidonians long before either one of us got here. I am sorry so many had to die, but it was a war. A war to—”
“Ann, listen to yourself! Can we possibly be the same person?”
Ann stared at the ceiling. “No, we are not the same person, Jenn. I finally had to grow up and face reality. You’re just some immature copy—”
“Reality? The Machidonians kill people!”
“The Machidonians are going to bring order to this world. Have you seen the Common provinces? They are corrupt, full of infighting. There is no law anywhere!”
“Four gon until Knight activation.”
“Just listen to yourself, Ann!”
“Who are you to talk, Jenn? This Beast Tribe—do you really think they’re so perfect? Ask them what they did to the Arch Tribe, or to the Virai before them, or to any of the countless thousands they have slaughtered in the name of their own holy crusades! At least the Machidonians are honest about their intentions. If you actually looked at their society, the character of the men who are now leading it—”
“They’ve brainwashed you,” CALA said softly. “You honestly believe that.”
“How can I have been so naïve?” Ann snarled. “This is so like how I used to be! The Beast Tribe were the first people you met, and I bet they were nice to you. You’ve latched onto them and so you’re blinded. I used to latch onto anyone who so much as batted their eyes at me. Well, I’m not that helpless little puppy that’s beaten and starved for affection anymore.”
“Oh, really? Didn’t the Machidonians reconstitute you?” CALA snapped.
“Yes, but I serve them of my own accord. With Farris’s help I’ve managed to make something of myself here. I know I’m fighting a war, and that I’m going to have to do some awful things, but that is a price I am willing to pay to support my husband’s vision.”
“Vision?” CALA asked, growing considerably paler each second.
“Two gon until Knight activation.”
“I want to help you, Jenn. After all, I know you. I used to be you,” Ann said as she once more rose from her desk and stretched out her hand. Her face softened considerably. “You didn’t know any better then, but you now have a chance to stop a disaster from happening. The Beast Tribe is evil. They aren’t even human.”
“Please stop,” CALA said softly.
“No one is quite sure where they came from, but Farris’s ancestors suspected that they might have been an attempt by the Others,
the Ancient Enemy, to imitate Knights. Whatever they are doing—”
“Stop, please.”
“Jenn, listen to me. There is powerful technology buried with the Beast Tribe, and if it is unleashed—”
“Stop!”
“I’m not going to stop. Jenn, look at yourself! You’re running around with the man we hired to kill you!”
“We?” CALA asked.
“To be fair, I didn’t know that it was you. I should have suspected it when you escaped. After all, I’m good at being annoying and scraping by, right?” Ann said with another sad laugh. She glared at her copy and sighed, “You are trying to stop the one thing that may save this planet from destruction.”
“What the hell are you talking about, Ann? There isn’t any apocalypse planned. I am trying to save the Beast Tribe from being wiped out. I’m protecting people!”
“Farris is a Knight. He has thousands of years of amassed knowledge. He knows better than anyone what sort of disaster is looming. His ancestors helped to defeat the Others, to make this world safe. He knows that the Beast Tribe wants to undermine everything his people have worked for.”
“But how do you know any of this is true? He could be lying—”
“One gon until Knight activation.”
“And you could be misguided, Jenn. What the hell is that thing in your head? Did they try to turn you into an Oracle and fail? They’ve mutilated you and still you—”
“It is an I/O device, not a mutilation! It’s a way to communicate.”
“And what are you trying to talk to, Jenn? What exactly do the Beasts want you to talk to?”
“They want their god back, Ann, and I will give it to them.”
“Now who sounds brainwashed?” Ann sighed. “Jenn, you have to listen to yourself. Literally! Please let me help you. I can introduce you to Chancellor Harakim, and to Farris. Talk to them and then pass judgment on who is right and who is wrong. In fact, why don’t you have a little chat with my husband right now?”
“Knight activation achieved.”
“I can’t. I’m sorry, Ann, but I can’t.”
“What are you so afraid of, Jenny?” she said in a mockery of their mother’s voice. “Jesus! I don’t want to see you as an enemy. Lord knows there isn’t enough therapy to recover from this insanity. I’m not going to add killing myself to the list. I want to at least try. We’re heading out as soon as we reinstall the power source—”
“She’s a person, damn it. I won’t let you use her anymore.”
“I’m sorry, Jenn, but I can’t let you do that.”
“And I can’t let you stop me, Ann.”
“I thought you said we were having dinner,” Jenn said as she flopped, naked and sweaty, onto the bed. She curled the sheets over her chest and giggled with delight as Ian curled beside her.
“Well, I ate everything I wanted . . .”
Jenn slapped him with a stray pillow. They tussled for a few moments until he landed on top of her and stared deeply into her eyes. He kissed her and frowned as she pushed him away.
“Sorry, too fast?” he asked.
Jenn stared at the ceiling. “No, no, it’s not that. Seriously, not that,” she said.
“Someone else?” Ian asked.
“No!” Jenn said. She furrowed her brow. “No, it’s just that everything is going so well. I mean, it’s fast and dirty—”
“You seem to bring that out in me,” he whispered as he nuzzled her ear. “I love it.”
“I told you about my dreams, didn’t I?”
Ian pulled away and put on his best serious face. Jenn giggled and slid the sheet off his shoulder. A tattoo of a feathered serpent coiled around his back while a jaguar clawed at his heart.
“Are you dreaming about the fire?” he asked.
“I’ve dreamed of these tattoos,” she whispered. “But something feels wrong.”
“Like what?”
“Like how perfect my life is going, considering. I got back into BU. My mom got a boyfriend who doesn’t yell at her all the time. I’ve even managed to land the man of my dreams. That sort of thing just doesn’t happen to me. What’s next? My dad is gonna magically appear and apologize for leaving?”
“Maybe you’re getting karmic payback?” Ian offered. “You should get some sort of reward for all the pain you’ve gone through. That’s what the universe would want, right?”
“Should I? What have I ever done, besides survive?”
“I can’t answer that. Hey, don’t be too hard on yourself, kid. It’s not easy.”
“I know, I know. I just keep having these dreams, Ian. In my dreams, it’s like—it’s like I’m some sort of superhero, and instead of having a scar on my forehead I have . . . I have something I can’t remember, but I know in my heart that it’s something I should never forget.”
“What can’t you let her do?” a deep voice asked from behind CALA. She turned slowly. She saw glistening leather boots, perfectly tailored leather pants, and the edge of a black duster. Her eyes paused at the sword slung at his side, and widened at an even more surprising addition to his arsenal: his gloved hand rested on a curved walnut handle that locked into what could only be one thing.
“Processing error. He has a firearm,” CALA muttered under her breath.
Farris Adair smiled at his captive’s shock. Although his face matched his brother Dailyn’s in raw features, life among the Machidonians had bleached and scarred his coffee-colored skin. His black hair was pulled into the traditional topknot, save one lock that fell in front of his right eye. Beneath that stripe, CALA could see stitches and reddened skin.
He looked back and forth between CALA and Ann. “We had heard scattered reports and wild theories, but, we must say, actually seeing you two together is surprising.”
“My, Farris, it seems that the gods have not been kind to you since our last meeting,” Eon said as he was shoved into the room by a pair of guards. “I’m sure my keepers would have mentioned a ruined eye and a mechanical arm.”
CALA snapped her gaze to the hand perched on the pommel of his gun. If she strained her ears, she could hear gears whirring as he tapped his fingers. The Knight’s good eye hardened as he sized up the Phantom.
“Eon. Now isn’t this another surprise? We knew that they raise your kind to be stupid, but we didn’t think you’d be dumb enough to come right to us.”
Ann jumped to her feet. “You won’t believe this, Farris. That woman—”
“And you must be the Serif-fan of the Beast Tribe,” Farris said with a smile. “We’ve been waiting to see you for some time. Of course, we would have preferred your head on a pike, but we suppose this is the next best thing.”
“Wait, Farris! She’s not well!” Ann cried. “We have to help her. You can’t just kill her! Help her, please. She’s me, well . . . part of me.”
Farris paced slowly around the frozen CALA and her Phantom guardian. He clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “Oh, this is a dilemma. On one hand, we must fulfill our duty to save this poor doomed planet. On the other, we can never disobey our beloved’s wishes. What are we to do?”
“Intruders detected at the holographic perimeter, Captain. Please issue your instructions,” a voice said from the loudspeaker.
Ann slammed her fist onto the speaker button. “Send out a surveillance team,” she barked. “Farris, I know myself. She’s just too stupid to realize what she’s done.”
CALA cocked her head. “Stupid?” she mouthed. Next to her, Eon tensed.
“Aligning yourself with the anathema of all that is civilized on this world is a fairly foolish endeavor in our eyes,” Farris chuckled. “Not to mention trusting this monster beside you. We still cannot believe that it would risk thousands of years of peace and understanding—for what? For a woman? Don’t the Phantoms have enough of those to please you, abomination?”
Eon cracked hi
s knuckles but refused to jump to the bait. Even as Farris leered at CALA, the Phantom remained locked in place, lips tight and muscles tense.
“Why are you so determined to wipe out the Beast Tribe, Farris? What have they ever done—?” CALA started.
Both Ann and Farris snapped, “What have they done?”
“Reconnaissance teams have reached the breach, Captain.”
Ann paced, waiting for news. She motioned to the door as a stretcher containing the weakened Oracle of Steam was dragged inside. The Machidonians carrying her clicked in surprise as they saw Eon and CALA standing, unfettered, in the middle of the room.
“Is the power source damaged?” Farris asked.
“Ann . . . ,” CALA started. “She’s a human being. How can you—?”
“That thing stopped being human the moment it sold its soul to the elemental powers!” Ann interrupted. “Is that what they did to you, Jenn? Did they rip out your conscience in exchange for the power jammed into your skull?”
“They did no such thing! She did not lose her soul!” CALA cried.
“She?” Farris asked.
Eon eyed the new guards at the door—and their shimmering pikes. As Farris began to slide his sword from its sheath, the intercom chimed in again.
“Captain, I have just received a transmission from our operative.”
“What is it?” Ann cried.
“The operative screamed loudly. Then there were sounds of a large feline roaring.”
“Kei!” both Eon and CALA cried.
In a split second, Eon wrapped his arm around Ann’s exposed neck. CALA somehow found the strength to dive toward the Oracle. “If you can hear me, I need your help,” she whispered.
“Jenn!” Ann gasped. “How can you do this? I wouldn’t let them hurt you . . . Farris!”
The guards’ pikes trembled as they leveled them at the Serif-fan. Their featureless visors darted back and forth between CALA, Eon, Farris, and the captive Ann.
“Let us go, or she dies,” Eon said.
Farris’s hand halted. His one good eye stared right through Eon. “You are faster than we anticipated. Know that we will never make the mistake of underestimating you again.